Water jet dispersers



y 1966 D. J. w. BLACKHALL 3,249,309

WATER JET DISPERSERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1963 A 0 2 4 6 2 .I N f 1 Q 5 M a w m plU\/@ 0 i l 4 4 4 4 A TTOR/VE) y 966 D. J. w. BLACKHALL v 3,249,309

WATER JET DISPERSERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1963 A TTOE/VE) y 1966 D. J. w. BLACKHALL 3,249,309

WATER JET DISPERSERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 5, 1963 v socket fashion as shown in FIGURE 3.

United States Patent 3,249,309 WATER JET DISPERSERS Douglas James Whitehead Blackhall, Fixby, Huddersfield, England, assignor to J. Blakeborough & Sons Limited, Yorkshire, England, a corporation of Great Britain Filed May 3, 1963, Ser. No. 277,865 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 4, 1962, 17,220/ 62 4 Claims. (Cl. 239518) This invention relates generally to water cooling towers and particularly to water jet dispersers or water sprayers for use in cooling towers. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved jet disperser, which has good dispersal characteristics.

According to this invention, a jet disperser is moulded in plastics material.v This enables the disperser to be mass produced in shapes which have good dispersal characteristics, but which would not be possible, or at any rate not possible for mass production in metal castings.

Another feature of the invention is that the disperser comprises a body having a hemispherical portion joined to a waisted anticlastic portion. The parts are so arranged thatthe water impinges first on the hemispherical portion and then passes over to the anticlastic portion.

The advantages of plastics dispersers will readily be appreciated. They are very resistant to erosion and corrosion, and will provide greater resilience than cast metal dispersers in case of impact. Other features and advantages of the water disperser or sprayer in accordance with the present invention will be better understood as described in the following specification and appended claims in conjunction with the following drawing in i which:

FIG. 1 is a half sectional view through an assembled disperser unit,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the unit shown in FIGURE 1,

and

FIG. 3 is. a perspective view showing the disperser sep arated from the saddle; and

FIG. 4, is a halfsectional view of another embodiment of a water disperser unit according to the invention.

The unit according to the invention comprises a saddle 10 and a disperser 12 mounted on the saddle. One such unit is provided for each outlet hole in the pipework system of a cooling tower, and there may be as many as 20,000 units of this kind in a single tower. The purpose of the unit is to disperse water in fine streams so that it is readily cooled.

The saddle is made as a plastic molding, and has a cylindrical portion 14 supported on a base 16. The base has holes 18 whereby it can be screwed to the pipe on which it is to fit, and it will be noted from FIGURES 1 and 3, that the underside of the base is curved to fit snugly on to the exterior of a pipe (indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 3). The upper end of the cylinder 14 is castellated to provide a series of outlet channels 20, and a pair of connecting pins 22 project from diametrally opposite positions on the cylinder 14.

The dispenser is made as a plastics moulding in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymer known by the trade name Kralastic M.M., and has a lower cylindrical portion 24, three legs 26, and a disperser body 28. The cylinder 24 is a tight fit over the cylinder 14 of the saddle, and is formed with two inverted L-shaped slots 31 adapted to receive the pins 22 in bayonet plug and A rubber ring 32 is fitted on the base of the saddle, and as shown in FIGURE 1, the bottom edge of the cylinder 24 engages the disperser.

and socket joint.

3,249,309 Patented May 3, 1966 ice with this ring when the disperser is in position. Moreover, the extremity of each slot 31 is recessed as indicated at 34 in FIGURE 3, so that the disperser must be moved downwardly slightly before it can be turned to disconnect it from the saddle. This means that the ring 32 must be compressed slightly to connect or disconnect This type of connection provides quick connect-disconnect means whereby the disperser may be readily connected to and disconnected from the saddle.

It is thought, however, that it should not be possible to disconnect the disperser easily by hand pressure. on the body as this could possibly lead to some of the dispersers being damaged. For this reason, the cylinder 24 is formed with three lugs 36 which project outwardly from the cylinder, the lower end of each of the legs 26 merging into one of the lugs. A special tool (not shown) may be provided, which has legs which extend over the body -28 and engage with the upper surface-of the cylinder 24 and with the lugs 36. This tool enablesdownward pressure to be applied to the disperser 12, via the cylinder 24, to compress the ring 32, and it also enables the disperser to be turned (due to its engagement with the lugs 36) to disconnect the bayonet It will be appreciated that two lugs such as 36 would be suflicient, and that they need not be combined with the legs 26. Thus the force required to disconnect or connect the disperser is applied to the cylinder 24, which is a relatively strong part of the disperser. Damage might occur to the legs 26 if the connecting and disconnecting force were applied to the body 28.

The legs 26 are equally spaced around the cylinder 24, and are of streamlined lateral cross section so as to avoid disturbing the jets of water. The body 28 has a hemispherical portion 38 (on which the water first impinges when it issues from the cylinder 14) an upper anticlastic portion 40, and an outwardly diverging portion comprising an upper cap 42 which is convex on its top side. It has been found that this shapeand in particular the combination of hemispherical and anticlastic portions-is very eiiective.

The body 28 is made hollow as shown in FIGURE 1, to simplify the moulding process.

Three grooves 44 are formed in the surface of the body 28, each such groove extending vertically, and having its outlet end breaking through the cap 42. One groove 44 is provided midway between each two adjacent legs 26. Water passing up through the grooves, tends to fall in what would otherwise be a dry area.

Whilst the disperser just described with reference to the drawings is quite effective, there is a tendency for the creation of a dry area in use immediately around the disperser as the water shoots off the anticlastic portion radially outwards. In a modification, therefore, a hole indicated by the chain dotted line 50 in FIGURE 1, extends vertically through the body 28, so that some water can pass directly up through this hole without passing over the surface of the body 28. It may be preferable to .form this hole venturi fashion (i.e., with a converging and diverging wall).

The water disperser above described is quite effective. There is, however, a tendency for the creation of a dry area in use immediately around the disperser as the water shoots off the anticlastic portion radially outwards. This is corrected in another embodiment of a unit constructed as illustrated in FIG. 4 in which all of the parts corresponding to those before described are illustrated with a reference number corresponding to the prior reference numerals except the numerals are primed.

In order to overcome the dry area the embodiment in FIG. 4 is provided with a central hole or bore 50 extending axially through the body 28 so that some water 3 will pass upwardly through the hole 5'0 without passing over the surface of the body 28'. The hole 50 may be formed as venturi, not shown.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the body 28, 28' in which unit is disposed coaxial with orifice-defining means 24, 24' and in the path of water being discharged therefrom. The water impinges on the hemispherical portion of the respective body and then passes successively over the anticlastic portion and the outwardly diverging portion thereof. Moreover, water is sprayed through the outlet channels 20, 20' which are disposed circumferentially and outwardly of the hemispherical portion of the respective body portions 28, 28'.

I claim:

1. A jet disperser moulded as a unit in plastics material and comprising:

(a) a body having a hemispherical portion and an anticlastic portion joined thereto and immediately downstream therefrom,

(b) a cylindrical part forming a nozzle adapted to be attached in tightfitting relationship to a fluid source, and

(c) legs joining said body to said cylindrical part in spaced relationship thereto whereby fluid from said source impinges first on said hemispherical portion and then passes over to said anticlastic portion.

2. 'A jet disperser according to claim 1, in which said body is hollow.

3. A jet disperser according to claim 1, wherein said body is provided with a vertical passage therethrough.

4. A jet disperser according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of vertical grooves is disposed in the surface of the body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 185,156 12/1876 Ash 285-361 291,107 1/1884 Tobin 394-498 1,674,480 6/ 1928 Nelson 239498 1,779,680 10/1930 Rayfield 239-460 2,657,024 10/ 1953 Reinecke 239 2,971,701 2/1961 Shames et al. 239 2,994,484 8/ 1961 Stearns 239498 3,009,648 11/1961 Hait 239498 3,061,204 10/1962 MacIn'nes et al. 1--" 239500 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,803 7/1920 Great Britain. 712,905 8/ 1952 Great Britain.

M. HENSON WOOD, ]R., Primary Examiner.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Examiner. 

1. A JET DISPERSER MOULDED AS A UNIT IN PLASTICS MATERIAL AND COMPRISING: (A) A BODY HAVING A HEMISPHERICAL PORTION AND AN ANTICLASTIC PORTION JOINED THERETO AND IMMEDIATELY DOWNSTREAM THEREFROM, (B) A CYLINDRICAL PART FORMING A NOZZLE ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED IN TIGHTFITTING RELATIONSHIP TO A FLUID SOURCE, AND (C) LEGS JOINING SAID BODY TO SAID CYLINDRICAL PART IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP THERETO WHEREBY FLUID FROM SAID 